Female character

edited May 2010 in General Chat
I think TTG should do a game with a female protagonist.... Now that they have the pilot program there has never been a better time to try it out.

Comments

  • puzzleboxpuzzlebox Telltale Alumni
    edited May 2010
    I don't much care whether the protagonist is male, female, of indeterminate gender or a mix of both - the most important thing is that they're interesting, likeable and well-written.

    That said though, sure. I'd be all for a game with a girl in the lead.
  • edited May 2010
    Wait, are you saying that games with female protagonists are inherently risky business propositions?

    ...

    Huh.
  • edited May 2010
    That's what I was thinking.
  • edited May 2010
    maybe Morgan LeFlay Ghost Pirate Hunter(TM)
  • edited May 2010
    I'm trying to think of adventure games that have female protagonists/playable characters and I'm coming up... Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle. There may be more, but those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.
  • edited May 2010
    Wait, are you saying that games with female protagonists are inherently risky business propositions?

    ...

    Huh.

    Obviously that is not true.

    I was just thinking about how TTG has not had the main player character a female yet.
  • edited May 2010
    Many adventures games have female protagonists/playable characters:
    Syberia, Still Life, Secret Files, The Longest Journey/Dreamfall, Mata Hari, So Blonde, Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express, Another Code, Fenimore Fillmore Revenge, Runaway: A twist of fate, Ankh, Jack Keane, some of the King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry (I think in some games you play as Passionate Patti in some places), Broken Sword, Gabriel Knight (I think you play as Grace Nakimura in some places in the third game)...
  • puzzleboxpuzzlebox Telltale Alumni
    edited May 2010
    I'm trying to think of adventure games that have female protagonists/playable characters and I'm coming up... Maniac Mansion and Day of the Tentacle. There may be more, but those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

    A random list of the ones I could think of. No particular order, haven't played a couple of them, and probably worth noting that there were some I didn't like much (refer to previous comment about protagonists needing to be likeable and well-written!).

    King's Quest IV
    King's Quest VII (there are 2 protagonists you play, both female)
    Broken Sword series (4 games, mostly you play as a guy but there are parts where you control a girl)
    Emerald City Confidential
    Runaway (again, mostly a guy but parts played as a girl)
    Laura Bow
    Phantasmagoria
    Return to Mysterious Island
    Nancy Drew series (20+ games)
    Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within (mostly a guy)
    A Vampyre Story
    So Blonde

    EDIT: Ninja'd by Javi-Wan. :D
  • edited May 2010
    (I think you play as Grace Nakimura in some places in the third game)...

    You play as Grace for a pretty large chunk of 3, actually, and roughly half of 2.
  • edited May 2010
    The Longest Journey/Dreamfall

    I really liked those... what I have played of them anyway.
  • edited May 2010
    I never have played any of those. I guess I have to now.
  • edited May 2010
    Irishmile wrote: »
    Obviously that is not true.

    I was just thinking about how TTG has not had the main player character a female yet.
    Yes, but your comment was that it was perfect for the Pilot Program...a program intended to showcase ideas that are risky business propositions.
  • edited May 2010
    when was it said that it was intended to be risky business propositions?
  • edited May 2010
    Every time someone says "risky business", I think of that one scene. In particular, this version keeps coming to mind.
  • edited May 2010
    Irishmile wrote: »
    when was it said that it was intended to be risky business propositions?
    It's kind of implied. The fact that they make an episode, and that they'll make more if it's successful, shows taht anything made for the Pilot Program is going to be something whose success Telltale is not entirely sure of. This isn't exactly how they'll phrase it, of course. The way they put it is:
    Telltale has created the Pilot Program as a means of cultivating fresh creative ideas and fostering innovation, similar to the entertainment industry's television pilots.

    Telltale's Pilot Program will introduce new video game concepts, content and play designs that can then be migrated to the company's episodic gaming model.
    And:
    The intent of Telltale's Pilot Program is to bring fresh game concepts, content and play designs to the world, so these can get expanded further.

    And it's true that these things are going to be a result. They invest less, so they don't lose as much if it fails, and they gain a lot if it succeeds. It's like conservative gambling, minimizing risk. The very fact that it is a pilot program shows that the company is not certain of the prospect's financial success, otherwise they would make it a full Season from the start(like Monkey Island or Sam and Max).
  • edited May 2010
    I do not think that "risky business proposition" is the correct term to use... obviously they would choose project they feel have potential to be successful not ones they think may fail that is just ridiculous.... Its like a soda company making crap flavored soda just because....
  • edited May 2010
    It's a perfect term to use. For example, the Grickle game. Huge opportunity to fail because it's not a known IP and the gameplay style is a deviation from Telltale's usual method of gameplay. A risk isn't something you know is going to fail, a risk is something that can't logically be assumed to be a success.
  • edited May 2010
    And a risk definitely doesn't mean crap. Sometimes it's quite the opposite. It means giving the consumer something they're not used to or not expecting, or maybe not ready for.

    I don't believe a female character applies. And if they have a game with a female lead, I don't think it should be because they thought "hey, let's make a game with a female lead", but because the lead of that game they worked on just happened to be female.

    On the other hand, I get the OP. So far, the games have been taking over some franchises. And franchises with a female lead might be rarer (it seems so to me). And an original IP /would/ be risky, and might be how we'd get a female lead first.
  • edited May 2010
    maybe Morgan LeFlay Ghost Pirate Hunter(TM)

    I think I'll have to second this. I, unlike many, have wanted a Morgan LeFlay spin-off game ever since the character was introduced.
  • edited May 2010
    Telltale's character designs generally seem to be pretty good; I'd like to see a game of theirs have a female protagonist. Like puzzlebox said, it's most important that the character is a likeable one!
    puzzlebox wrote: »
    A random list of the ones I could think of. No particular order, haven't played a couple of them, and probably worth noting that there were some I didn't like much (refer to previous comment about protagonists needing to be likeable and well-written!).

    King's Quest IV
    King's Quest VII (there are 2 protagonists you play, both female)
    Broken Sword series (4 games, mostly you play as a guy but there are parts where you control a girl)
    Emerald City Confidential
    Runaway (again, mostly a guy but parts played as a girl)
    Laura Bow
    Phantasmagoria
    Return to Mysterious Island
    Nancy Drew series (20+ games)
    Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within (mostly a guy)
    A Vampyre Story
    So Blonde

    EDIT: Ninja'd by Javi-Wan. :D
    Another one I just remembered - Legend of Kyrandia 2
  • edited May 2010
    Count me in on wanting a female protagonist. I'm really interested in how the Telltale team would develop a game with a female lead and see what kind of personality she has or if she has any cool powers etc. but, to me the setting and plot have to seem interesting as well otherwise the game just falls flat. But Telltale has done a great job at making games, such as Sam & Max and Monkey Island, that are both strong in their characters and their atmosphere as well. But don't get me wrong I'd LOVE a Telltale game with a female lead but I just think that just characters along should be considered in adventure games. :)

    And on a somewhat unrelated note: Freddi Fish is another adventure game series with a female lead
  • edited May 2010
    Samantha and Maxine, freelance police.
  • edited May 2010
    tredlow wrote: »
    Samantha and Maxine, freelance police.
    Riskier would be a game starring a gay couple.

    priWT.jpg
  • edited May 2010
    Max Payne: "It was there at the end of the long and winding turmoil of my endless depression that I met him. I stood in the snow, staring angrily at the city that took my wife and child from me. I heard someone speak in a strange baritone, I thought he was mocking me."
    Sam: "Hey little buddy!"
  • edited May 2010
    Riskier would be a game starring a gay couple.

    priWT.jpg

    I'd play that if it didn't have the gay thing.
  • edited May 2010
    I bet there's already fanfic for that somewhere.
  • edited May 2010
    I bet there's already fanfic for that somewhere.

    I think there's a fanfic of Serious Sam and Max Payne. Serious Payne or something, I dunno.
  • edited May 2010
    Scrawffler wrote: »
    Telltale's character designs generally seem to be pretty good; I'd like to see a game of theirs have a female protagonist. Like puzzlebox said, it's most important that the character is a likeable one!

    Another one I just remembered - Legend of Kyrandia 2

    I thoroughly enjoyed playing Zanthia in the Hand of Fate. But not necessarily because she was a female character. I think it is most important that the character is likeable as well.

    Having a female protagonist from the start can be a bit risky. It seems to work easier when it is the second or third game in a series that has the female protagonist.
  • edited May 2010
    There should be a Sailor Moon anime game since most main charecters are women (and the one male hero is pretty useless)
  • edited May 2010
    Riskier would be a game starring a gay couple.

    priWT.jpg

    I'd play that in a heartbeat... but for entirely the wrong reasons.
  • edited May 2010
    I bet there's already fanfic for that somewhere.
    Sam & Max is lacking in fanfiction, so I doubt it.
  • edited May 2010
    Shwoo wrote: »
    Sam & Max is lacking in fanfiction, so I doubt it.

    I wrote a Half-Life 2 Sam and Max crossover fanfic once. Nothing sexual. Also, it sucks. Also, you can find it on the internet if you look hard enough.
  • edited May 2010
    Riskier would be a game starring a gay couple.

    priWT.jpg

    Actually, I think there should be more games with gay leads, for equality's sake. So what if some people don't approve, many others do. Also, I love Sam's expression in this. But this image would make Max Payne what, 7ft tall?
  • edited May 2010
    Actually, I think there should be more games with gay leads, for equality's sake.

    Yeah, a disproportionate number of human main characters are white straight males. Not just in videogames, though, I remember reading about how it was only fairly recently that graphic novels started having female leads, rather than female unimportant, annoying side-characters.
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